Currently in a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management environment, the term "auto-discovery" refers to the ability of a Network Management Station (NMS) to automatically detect or discover an Internet Protocol (IP) addressable device in a network. The NMS can also identify a device that is SNMP manageable (if the device supports at least the System module for SNMP MIB II).
Once a device is discovered, it can be managed only if its management information base (MIB) is available and has been previously loaded into the NMS. If the MIB is not available, a vendor must be contacted to obtain the required MIB. This process may take hours to days for completion. Until the MIB is obtained, the discovered device is not manageable. Another problem that can arise is if the MIB for the discovered device is not of the correct version, then the NMS may not be able to coherently manage the features of the device.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus that can enable the NMS not only to discover the existence of an IP device, but also to extract the MIB information from the device. Preferably the method and apparatus will utilize existing SNMP methods for communicating between the NMS and the device, so that no additional protocols or connections are required for extracting the MIB information.